GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Jan. 9, 2019) – With an even-par 72 in the final round, Cory Lopez managed to hold off the Arkansas contingent chasing her and win the Mexican Women’s Amateur.

Interestingly enough, in another year and a half, she’ll be one of those Razorbacks. Lopez, from Monterrey, Mexico, is a high school junior who has committed to play for the reigning SEC champions.

Lopez finished 72 holes at Guadalajara Country Club with a 4-under total. It gave her a six-shot victory. Earlier this year in an interview with the Annika Foundation, the 16-year-old named her idol as Arkansas senior Maria Fassi, who won the 2018 Annika Award.

Fassi, who had rounds of 72-74-68-76 to tie for second with Texas junior Emilee Hoffman, is in her final months as an amateur. She earned her LPGA card for the 2019 season but has chosen to defer acceptance of that card until the end of the college-golf season. Fassi hails from Pachuca, Mexico, and won this event in both 2015 and 2016.

The Mexican Women’s Amateur field was loaded with Arkansas players. Two more, Kaylee Benton and Dylan Kim, tied for fourth at 10 over after both finished with a 76 in the final round.

Grace St-Germain was 12th and Brooke Matthews tied for 14th. Three more Razorbacks were inside the top 31, including signee Julia Gregg who was 16th.

Other collegians in the field who had notable finishes include Texas freshman Hailee Cooper, who tied for 10th, and senior teammate Madison Luitwieler, who was was T-14. LSU junior Monica Dibildox was 13th.

Two Division II players also had high finishes. Dallas Baptist’s Eveleyn Arguelles, who occasionally traveled with the Mexican national team as a junior (and who also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open this past summer), was 17th and Indianapolis sophomore Pilar Echeverria, of Guatemala, was T-18.